The Rex Hotel Saigon ( vi, Khách Sạn Rex, french: Hôtel Rex de Saïgon) is a famous luxury and business hotel in

Ho Chi Minh City , population_density_km2 = 4,292 , population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2 , population_demonym = Saigonese , blank_name = GRP (Nominal) , blank_info = 2019 , blank1_name = – Total , blank1_ ...

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

The 286-room, five-story building is located in

District 1 District 1 may refer to: * I District, Turku, in Finland * District 1, Düsseldorf, a district in Düsseldorf, Germany * Sector 1 (Bucharest), also known as District 1, in Bucharest, Romania * District I, Budapest in Budapest, Hungary * District ...

of the city, close to the

Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica of Saigon ( vi, Vương cung thánh đường Chính tòa Đức Bà Sài Gòn or ; french: Basilique-Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Saïgon), officially Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of The Immaculate Conception ( vi, V� ...

and the

Municipal Theatre A municipal theatre is a theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific ...

. In 2003, the hotel underwent extension and renovation works in its

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...

interior design Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. An interior designer is someone who plans, researches, coordina ...

and

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

services. It is owned by the state-owned enterprise Saigon Tourist.

History

Constructed in 1927, for French businessman Bainier, during France's colonial rule of Vietnam, the building started out as a two-story auto dealership and garage complex, called "Bainier Auto Hall". The building showcased

Citroën Citroën () is a French automobile brand. The "Automobiles Citroën" manufacturing company was founded in March 1919 by André Citroën. Citroën is owned by Stellantis since 2021 and previously was part of the PSA Group after Peugeot acquired ...

and other European cars. From 1959 to 1975, Mr. and Mrs. Ung Thi renovated the building into the 100-room "Rex Complex" hotel, which featured three cinemas, a

cafeteria A cafeteria, sometimes called a canteen outside the U.S., is a type of food service location in which there is little or no waiting staff table service, whether a restaurant or within an institution such as a large office building or school ...

, a dance hall and a library. The first guests in the Rex came in December 1961, while it was still in its final construction phase. They were 400 U.S. Army soldiers, 200 each from the 57th Transportation Company from Fort Lewis,

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, Washington, Olympia, and northwest of Mount ...

, and the 8th Transportation Company from

Fort Bragg Fort Bragg is a military installation of the United States Army in North Carolina, and is one of the largest military installations in the world by population, with around 54,000 military personnel. The military reservation is located within Cum ...

, NC. They were the first company-strength units to arrive in Saigon, equipped with twenty H-21 twin rotor Shawnee helicopters, on the USS ''Core'', on December 11, 1961. They were billeted at the Rex for a week or so while their tents were being set up at

Tan Son Nhat Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport ( vi, Sân bay quốc tế Tân Sơn Nhất or Cảng hàng không quốc tế Tân Sơn Nhất) is the busiest airport in Vietnam with 32.5 million passengers in 2016 and 38.5 million passengers in 2018 ...

for the 57th, and the 8th at

Quy Nhon Quy Nhon ( vi, Quy Nhơn ) is a coastal city in Bình Định province in central Vietnam. It is composed of 16 wards and five communes with a total of . Quy Nhon is the capital of Bình Định province. As of 2019 its population was 457,400. H ...

. A

Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden and ...

dinner, held a few weeks after the actual holiday, was cooked in the men's field kitchen on the rooftop of the Rex. During the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

, the hotel was the site of the United States military command's daily press conference, derisively named

Five O'Clock Follies The Five O'Clock Follies is a sobriquet for military press briefings that occurred during the Vietnam War. Richard Pyle, Associated Press Saigon bureau chief during the war, described the briefings as, "the longest-playing tragicomedy in Southeast A ...

by cynical journalists who found the optimism of the American officers misguided. The daily event was hosted by

Barry Zorthian Barry Zorthian (1920–2010) was an American diplomat, most notably press officer for years during the Vietnam war, media executive and lobbyist.Pyle, Richard"Barry Zorthian dies at 90; U.S. diplomat and press spokesman in Vietnam War" ''Associate ...

, chief spokesperson for the U. S. government in Saigon from 1964-68. Its rooftop bar was a well-known hangout spot for military officials and war correspondents.

Decline and revival of the Rex

After the

ended in 1975, the state's Saigon Tourism Bureau took ownership of the hotel and renamed it ''Ben Thanh'' ("The City Port").Ben Thanh market
, Vietscape website The hotel was used as the location for the press conference announcing the reunification of Vietnam in 1976. In 1986, the hotel was renamed Rex Hotel.

References

External links

Official Website

at the SaigonScene website
Saigon hotel
{{Coord, 10, 46, 33, N, 106, 42, 5.4, E, type:landmark, display=title Hotel buildings completed in 1927 Hotels in Ho Chi Minh City Hotels established in 1959 1950s establishments in South Vietnam

History

Decline and revival of the Rex

See also

References

External links